The present disclosure relates generally to a building management system (BMS) and more particularly to various systems and methods for enhancing interaction with, and visualization of, a BMS by a user such as an operator, a service engineer, a technician, an installation engineer, and, in some cases, a building user.
A BMS is, in general, a system of devices configured to control, monitor, and/or manage equipment in or around a building or building area. A BMS can include, for example, a HVAC system, a security system, a lighting system, a fire alerting system, any other system that is capable of managing building functions or devices, or any combination thereof.
A BMS may include one or more computer systems (e.g., servers, BMS controllers, etc.) that serve as enterprise level controllers, application or data servers, head nodes, master controllers, or field controllers for the BMS. Such computer systems may communicate with multiple downstream building systems or subsystems (e.g., an HVAC system, a security system, etc.) according to like or disparate protocols (e.g., LON, BACnet, etc.). The computer systems may also provide one or more human-machine interfaces or client interfaces (e.g., graphical user interfaces, reporting interfaces, text-based computer interfaces, client-facing web services, web servers that provide pages to web clients, etc.) for controlling, viewing, or otherwise interacting with the BMS, its subsystems, and devices.
Interacting with various components of the BMS is often a cumbersome and expensive endeavor. Operators typically require a special skill and training to operate components in the BMS. Issues that arise with components of the BMS may be difficult to understand and may take time to diagnose. Accordingly, information from the BMS is typically only available to a select number of individuals. Even locating components of the BMS can be challenging in crowded control rooms. As a result, all other users of a building are not able to utilize information from the BMS to increase their enjoyment of the building.